Archive for June 28th, 2012

(CNS): The premier spent well over three hours on his feet berating the opposition on Thursday morning as he closed the Legislative Assembly debate on the motion for government’s stop-gap emergency budget. McKeeva Bush pointed the finger at the auditor general, whom he described as “a hit-man”, the governor and the FCO as well for preventing him from getting things moving but above all he blamed the PPM, and the party leader in particular, for his difficulties with this year’s budget. During his response to yesterday’s debate Bush revealed that government expected to collect $75 million in revenue over the two month interim budget period.

This coupled with the $25 million overdraft is expected to cover government’s bills from now until the end of August. Government’s stop-gap emergency budget, which was approved by the UK, called for $102 million in spending and a $25 million overdraft facility.

The UDP government gained approval from the Legislative Assembly for the short term spending plan with the government benches voting yes. The opposition benches, including the independent member, abstained from the vote, indicating their disapproval but recognising the need for government to pay its bills.

In his response to Wednesday’s debate on the motion the premier revealed that his government was now engaged in a serious cost cutting exercise and he would bring the full budget for the 2012/13 fiscal year in a few weeks. He pointed to increases in liquor licensing fees and a possible 5 cent glass bottle tax on alcohol imports as new revenue raising measures likely to appear in the new budget to pay for the hospitality school.

Bush also announced plans for a new private sector development that was being posed by an unnamed investor that he said would create a new mixed-use town with shops, restaurants, a cinema, a hotel and condos, straddling the districts of East End and North Side. He gave very few details but said the investment was worth around $300 million and the mystery developer required no special concessions.

Despite the issues associated with the port and the FCO’s difficulties approving the project until it is in line with international best procurement practice, Bush insisted he was continuing with his discussions with China Harbour and the Chinese firm was the best partner. He revealed that McAlpine, DECCO (Dart’s construction company) and Hurlstone Construction would all be working with CHEC on the project. (See more on this in separate CNS article).

Much of the premier’s speech was focused, however, on the shortcomings of the previous administration and its failure to manage the country’s finance. Although he was reading from a formal address, much of the speech was not from the script and saw Bush impassioned and animated as he yelled across the floor at the opposition benches, and took aim at CNS and the auditor general.

Bush said the mismanagement of the previous administration, which demitted office three years and one month ago, was the reason why he could not deliver a budget. It was they, he said, who had handed the power to the UK to approve the government’s budgets and control what he did. Instead of offering solutions, the premier said the opposition was “gleeful” about his inability to bring a full budget presentation before the year end.

As he railed against the regulation that he claimed was stopping him from getting anything done, he accused the opposition of enjoying the problems this bureaucracy was causing. “They are using that to be gleeful and sitting down eating carrots and drinking milk,” the premier said.

He pointed to the pressure the FCO was placing on him to follow international best practice and said the British were being “unrealistic” when they expected a small jurisdiction like Cayman to follow “some UN ideals” or World Bank standards.

Bush was particularly scathing about the auditor general, implying he was in some form of alliance against his government with the media, especially CNS, and the opposition as well, which he said was all “palsywalsy" with the auditor general and “brown nosing” with the governor and the FCO. Bush described Alastair Swarbrick and his audit office as “nothing but a hit-man” and revealed that he was suing the public auditor but did not reveal on what basis he was doing so.

Despite the major problems the UDP government now faces in trying to reduce operational expenses by a significant amount, Bush claimed that his government had made a turnaround in public finances. He then went on to say that the current budget crisis could be a major turning point as people would begin to understand that government can’t keep “spending and spending and borrowing and borrowing”.

Budget crisis aside, he told the Legislative Assembly that the country was “poised for better times” provide that the PPM and the North Side member didn’t get in power. “They think I’m weakened but I’m not,” he said at the end of his three hour plus address.

A much shorter scripted version of the speech delivered by the premier in the LA is posted below.

(CNS): A jury returned a verdict of guilty on Thursday afternoon following a four-day trial involving a police officer accused of brutality. Rabe Welcome was found guilty of wounding after he broke the arm of Adolphus Myrie as he executed an arrest while off duty in 2009. Speaking in the wake of the verdict, Deputy Commissioner Anthony Ennis said the RCIPS takes any allegation of assaults by officers extremely seriously. “Although there are occasions when officers do find themselves in situations where the use of force is necessary, they must be able to justify that the use of force was justified and proportionate to the circumstances at the time.”

Ennis added that in this case it was clear that the level of force used was “far from justified or proportionate”.

Welcome broke the arm of the man in question as he arrested him at Red Bay Esso gas station some three years ago. The assault took place in the early hours of the morning when welcome and two other officers with him were off duty.

“Police officers we are sworn to uphold the laws and the guilty verdicts reached by the jury is a reminder that police officers are not above the law and will be held accountable if they act outside of their lawful authority,” Ennis added. “Unfortunately the actions of a few can blight the reputation of the many honest, hardworking and committed officers within the Service. We will continue to work diligently to maintain the highest professional standards within the RCIPS.”

Welcome, who has been suspended from his post since the incident, was bailed to return to court in August to be sentenced.

(CNS): The new policy document setting out how the UK will be dealing with its overseas territories in future has finally been officially published on the FCO website. The document was revealed briefly in error on Monday but withdrawn from the site later that day. As reported on CNS on Monday, the official paper reveals that the UK will be taking a more hands-on approach and keeping a closer watch on finances, good governance and the potential for corruption across the last remnants of empire. In exchange, Britain will offer more expertise to the territories local governments from across the UK adminsitraiton.

The foreign secretary stated that he expects to see the same high standards of government in the territories as in the UK.

(CNS): As legislators debated late on Wednesday evening, no details of how government intended to fund its request for $127 million were revealed. Although the premier has statedthat he needs to cut government’s core operational expenses to well below last year’s figure, there are no cuts in spending for the interim plan, which averages expense of almost $63.5 million per month. Bush did not say what government’s projected earnings would be for the next two months but has requested an overdraft facility of $25 million. If government was to continue spending at the same rate for the rest of the year it would need to cover expenses of around $760 million.

Although McKeeva Bush said the two month spending plan should not be translated as “2/12ths” of the amount that government will spend over the next fiscal year, he did not say how the expenses would be paid for or how he would then hone down the next ten months to an average monthly spending of less than $40 million to reach a balanced budget for the rest of the year.

Bush said the FCO is insisting on further reductions to the premier’s original spending target of $498 million. This means he will need to reduce operating expenses for government over the remaining ten months to an average of less than $37 million — a task which seems almost insurmountable without major legislative changes and the cancellation of many government programmes.

Bush has turned his sights on the liquor trade for an increase in fees but it is understood he is seeking to raise around $800,000 in order to fund a hospitality school. No other new revenue raising measures have yet been revealed, nor has government shown any figures reflecting the earnings it expects to see this fiscal year from its major revenue streams, such as work permits, duty and or financial services fees.

In the stop-gap budget government appears to have opted for business as usual and has included almost ¾ of a million dollars appropriations to the Nation Building Fund and a $2 million subsidy to the Turtle Farm, among other major costs.

The premier revealed that the UK had twice rejected his proposals over the last week. The FCO declined to approve the original budget proposal, which had included some $59 million of long term borrowing as well as the government overdraft. Bush then proposed to deliver the budget without the long term borrowing and to negotiate that with UK officials separately. However, the British also declined that proposal and said the premier needed to cut spending.

The UK has offered to send an economics expert to Cayman to help government shave its spending and present a balanced budget before the end of August.

Legislators return to the LA this morning at 10am, when the premier will deliver his response to yesterday’s debate on the motion for the stop-gap spending plan and for the House to vote on the motion. Given that not a single member of the government benches has ever voted against or deliberately abstained from a motion presented by the premier, the emergency budget is likely to pass.

See government’s motion for a stop-gap budget and the premier’s accompanying speech below.

(CNS): With just three weeks to go before the Cayman Islands goes to the polls to decide on how it will vote in future elections, the Elections Office says registered voters have two more weeks to apply for a postal ballot or to be treated as mobile voter. The deadline is 6 July and officials warned after that electors will have to go to the poll to have their vote count. Once a voter has applied for and received a postal ballot, it must be delivered to an election official before 6pm on referendum day 18 July. Forms are available online at www.electionsoffice.ky or from a registering officer or from the Elections Office.

For those who want to take advantage of the mobile polls because they are unable or unlikely to get to the polling stations because they are in a hospital, rest home or other similar institution, are infirm and housebound or because of the general nature of their occupation, service or employment, the units will be available as listed below;.

West Bay- 12th July, 2012 at the John A. Cumber School Hall for electors that are unable to go to the polls because of employment/service or occupation commencing at 9:00 A.M. until 1:00 P.M. In the case of private residences/hospitals/rest homes or other similar institutions a mobile team will visit between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and 6:00 P.M.

George Town- 11th July, 2012 at the Elections Office at 150 Smith Road for electors that are unable to go to the polls because of employment/service or occupation commencing at 9:00 A.M. until 1:00 P.M. In the case of private residences/hospitals/rest homes or other similar institutions a mobile team will visit between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and 6:00 P.M.

Bodden Town- 10th July, 2012 at the James Manoah Bodden Civic Centre for electors that are unable to go to the polls because of employment/service or occupation commencing at 9:00 A.M. until 1:00 P.M. In the case of private residences/hospitals/rest homes or other similar institutions a mobile team will visit between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and 6:00 P.M.

North Side- 9th July, 2012 at the North Side Primary School for electors that are unable to go to the polls because of employment/service or occupation commencing at 9:00 A.M. until 1:00 P.M. In the case of private residences/hospitals/rest homes or other similar institutions a mobile team will visit between the hours of 1:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M.

East End- 9th July, 2012 at the William Allen McLaughlin Civic Centre for electors that are unable to go to the polls because of employment/service or occupation commencing at 9:00 A.M. until 1:00 P.M. In the case of private residences/hospitals/rest homes or other similar institutions a mobile team will visit between the hours of 1:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M

Little Cayman- 6th July, 2012 at the Public Works workers accommodation building for electors that are unable to go to the polls because of employment/service or occupation commencing at 9:00 A.M. until 1:00 P.M. In the case of private residences/hospitals/rest homes or other similar institutions a mobile team will visit between the hours of 1:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M

Cayman Brac- 9th July, 2012 at the Aston Rutty Centre for electors that are unable to go to the polls because of employment/service or occupation commencing at 9:00 A.M. until 1:00 P.M. In the case of private residences/hospitals/rest homes or other similar institutions a mobile team will visit between the hours of 1:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M